By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
Korean police officers used unnecessary and undue force against protesters opposing the resumption of U.S. beef imports, Amnesty International said in its final report on the issue, Monday.
The human rights agency called on the government to amend regulations to allow citizens to exercise their peaceful right to assemble and review current policing practices to ensure their compliance with international law and standards.
The report was based on the agency's on-the-scene inspections, interviews with concerned civilians and research of documents.
``The majority of protesters were peacefully exercising their right to freedom of expression and assembly enshrined in both Korean Constitution and international human rights law and standards,'' it said in the report. ``But, various provisions under Korean law have limited the rights to demonstrate.''
The Ministry of Justice refuted the statement, saying ``the report is biased.''
``The report was largely based on one-sided allegations from protesters and those opposing the U.S. beef imports and opinions from the police and government were hardly reflected in this paper,'' the ministry said in a statement,
For the report, the human rights watchdog dispatched its inspector Norma Kang Muico in July. She interviewed 56 civilians including detainees, lawmakers, journalists and human rights lawyers, all of whom were present at or directly involved in the protests.
The candlelight protests, which later turned violent, began on May 2 and continued for about three months, bringing down President Lee Myung-bak's approval rating to below 20 percent.
To soothe the anger, the entire cabinet offered to resign and the President made two public apologies.